Before her courage deserted her, she sent him a text.
I’d love to come to the bar, but I’m not dressed appropriately.
She waited with bated breath, but there was no answer. Seconds raced one after the other, piled into minutes. It felt like an eternity as she checked her phone again and again. Her courage leaving her, she was as deflated as a punctured balloon.
Fifteen minutes since she had sent him the text.
Mortification and frustration vied for space within her. Had he already changed his mind? Had her appeal been that temporary?
Disappointed more than she thought she would be, she sank into the luxurious leather of the sofa. Her phone pinged. The gasp that escaped her drew curious gazes.
Running a hand over her trembling mouth, Tanya clicked her phone on. Her heart somersaulted in her chest, her mouth fell open.
Check in with the reception desk in the main lounge. The concierge will hand you a keycard and a dress. Change and come find me at the bar, Ms Singh.
Shock making her slow to respond, it took her two minutes to type a response.
I didn’t mean it like that. Please, John. I can’t accept it.
This time, his response was quick, as if he had been expecting her response.
Infinite tomorrows, only one tonight. :) Take a risk, Tanya.
Tanya burst out laughing, a light, wondrous feeling swelling in her chest. It was a line from the movie that had propelled him into stardom, the line that persuaded the naïve heroine to run away with a rogue.
You’re ruining me with your filmy lines, John. But I prefer the real you.
She could almost see the light in his eyes, see his mouth curve into a smile.
Then come find me, Tanya.
Chapter Six
John finished his drink and signaled the bartender for another one. The decadence of the bar registered on the periphery of his senses as the same question spun in his head.
Would she come?
Waiting for her here, he suddenly felt like a teenager. His wealth, his good looks, his status, nothing mattered here. And the anticipation of how she would look, the fear that she might change her mind, the stark honesty of all those emotions, they rooted him. Made him feel more alive than he had in a long while.
The low lights instantly caught her lithe form standing at the entrance. His breath halted in his throat.
John had worked with some of the most beautiful women in the world, and none had the irresistible combination of innocence and sensuality that radiated from Tanya.
Her gaze searching through the bar, she tucked an errant curl behind her ear. The nervous gesture made him smile as he took in the stunning picture she presented in the midnight blue dress.
He had asked the concierge to choose something with a conservative cut and he was glad he had. The glittering blue cocktail dress hugged her curves without being risqué. The graceful line of her jaw and neck, the crook of her shoulder, everything inside John wanted to touch her, trace her subtle beauty with his tongue, wanted to lose himself in her body tonight.
Pulling in a deep breath, he shoved away the liquid desire just as her gaze found him.
She held it, a smile curving her mouth, but he didn’t miss the nervous flutter as she smoothed her hand over her hip.
He resolved to not rush her into anything, silencing the clamour of desire. His body was more than ready for satisfaction after being celibate for so long, but tonight, he wanted it to be about her. Gone were the days, before his marriage, when he fell into bed with the first woman he met, the days when he got drunk on false adoration. Woke up only to realise that it was nothing but transient and artificial.
It had cost her something to come and see him tonight. And he was supremely grateful that she had. Because he had forgotten the simple, unbeatable thrill of meeting an interesting woman and seeing her like him for who he was, laugh at something he said, and want his company because she liked him.
Much as she knew him as the star John Patel, he was glad that she was standing there because she also saw the true him.
A few hours in the company of a real woman… it was all he wanted tonight.
Tanya reached John on legs that felt like they were made of jelly. Her tummy was a football field for butterflies. But after one look at the welcoming, genuine smile on his face, she pulled in a couple of quick breaths and forced herself to relax.
The champagne she had drunk in the suite as she had prepared to come down to the bar helped.
Rising from his seat, John smiled at her. His gaze was alight with admiration. ‘I’ve never seen anyone more gorgeous,’ he whispered as he pulled out a chair for her.
Tanya scrunched her nose and took her seat. ‘It’s kind of hard to believe that.’ When he opened his mouth, she stopped him with a shake of her head. ‘But for tonight, I’ll accept it. Thank you.’ Her gaze swept over his face with a greed she couldn’t curb. ‘You look pretty good yourself,’ she said with a wink, and he laughed again.
She ordered a Cosmopolitan for herself.
Slowly, Tanya relaxed as he asked her questions about herself, told her a few stories about a temperamental Bollywood director, the injuries he had received when he had done his own stunts in one of his action movies. He asked her about the places she had visited in India.
Tanya found herself smiling and laughing alternately, his humour and charm making it so easy to like him. But neither was she unaware of the spark that had roared into life when their fingers touched, or the small tremors in her belly as his gaze traveled over her mouth.
But he wouldn’t press her into anything, she realised. Even the touch had been accidental. The fact that he was sticking to his word only made her like him more.
But Tanya wanted more. She wanted to dance with this man who made her laugh so easily, she wanted to feel the solid strength of his shoulders, and she wanted to feel her heart race in her chest with excitement. But she was nowhere near done grieving, had no idea where or how to begin living life again.
In twelve months, she had done nothing but wake up, eat, dress and sleep. She had been like a zombie in that American show that Jessie liked so much. Just functioning.
But in just the space of a few hours, John had made her angry, made her laugh at him and herself and more than anything, he had made her feel again. Reminded her of the girl who had fallen into love with her whole heart, who had reached for happiness, the girl who had known pain and grief.
The girl who had asked the man she had loved to marry her.
That girl would never shy away from a magical night with a magnificent man.
Before her courage deserted her, Tanya reached for his hand on the table and laced her fingers with his.
His fingers clasped her tight instantly, the blunt tips grazing her own. His hand was big and warm enveloping hers. And she shuddered a breath out, gathering herself inside.
Tomorrow, he would leave and she would go back to her own life.
‘Can we get out of here?’ she finally said, losing herself in the desire in his eyes.
Tanya had made such plans to breathe in every detail of the interior of the majestic hotel. But her hand in John’s, the only thing she was aware of was his long stride, the tensile strength of his thighs, and the breadth of his shoulders. Before she could blink, John’s fingers were fumbling with the key card.
She had no idea who had pulled who along or if they had communicated without words and agreed with each other.
Her heartbeat was like an incessant tattoo against her ribs as she stepped over the threshold. His suite was decadent luxury and elegant style meshed together perfectly. The stunning vista of nighttime London through the French doors held her attention for a few seconds.
Sudden shyness coming over her, she turned.
John leaned against the closed door to the suite, his legs crossed at the ankles, his gaze sweeping over her with intense scrutiny.
Letting the feverish desire that was combing through her be the driving force, Tanya reached him and pressed her lips to his. Heat unlike anything she had ever known enveloped her as he dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her close with a groan.
His mouth slanted over hers, he nibbled at her lips, stroked the seam. A sob of hunger rising through her, Tanya gasped and felt the erotic stroke of his tongue against hers. The kiss went from soft and exploring to wanton heat and wild lust in the matter of a couple of breaths.
Desperate for more, Tanya held him tighter, her body’s want and need warring with her innate modesty. As though sensing her inner turmoil, the pressure of his kiss relented.
If he thought backing off and staying gentle with a soft caress instead of the all-consuming hunger was better, he was wrong.
The soft, butterfly kisses he placed along her jawline even as he struggled to control his own breathing only made her realise how much she wanted this. Clasping his unshaven jaw, Tanya kissed his luscious mouth again. Dueled with his tongue, tugged his lower lip with her teeth and reveled in the shudder that went through him.
When he said, ‘Bedroom,’ she nodded eagerly. She locked her hands around his neck as he picked her up as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. Every inch of her trembling with spiraling need, she hid her face in his chest. ‘How can I like this so much? How can I want you so much?’
His fingers under her chin, he tipped her face up. He kissed her nose with a tenderness that unraveled the fist of grief that threatened to fragment her from within. Putting her down on the bed, he kissed her as if she was truly the most beautiful woman in the world.
Sensations buffeted her from every side as he kissed her softly. Lying on his side, as if afraid that she would bolt, he traced the lines of her body. Whispered soft promises as he pulled the side zip of her dress down and bared her breasts to his devouring gaze.